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on all the presses, i was always working with low-40s to high-50s %1-RM for high volume workouts. if i averaged out all my workouts, though, i'd say it would be very close to 50% on the nose. my standard for high volume work is 6x10 @ 50%, and i just tweak things from there as i go along.

cool.

__________________"You must have a very strong reason for doing an exercise. If you don't, scrap it and move on." -Jim Wendler

Decided to base today on my last squat+bench workout. I added a set of 5 and subtracted a set of 10. The total progression would look like this:

Squat
5x5, 3x10 6x5, 2x10
7x5, 1x10
8x5

Bench
3x5, 6x10 4x5, 5x10
5x5, 4x10
6x5, 3x10
7x5, 2x10
8x5, 1x10

Today's workout was the one in sea green I don't know if I'll actually follow this, but it seems like a great way to transition from high volume to moderate volume. It also lets me work on getting comfortable handling a single weight. Here are the weights I want to feel comfortable with (good bar speed, minimum fatigue) before progressing:

Squat: 225, Bench: 185, Deadlift: 315

What better way to get comfortable with them than to work with them as often as possible without overtraining ? And this progression might allow me to do that.

Squat = 9,450 lbs.

10 x bar
8 x 135
4 x 225
2 x 275*
a**) 6 x 5 x 225
b) 2 x 10 x 135

*Felt heavier than my last squat w/o, which concerned me at first. I might've been self-conscious, though, b/c I could see people watching me. Overheard a couple skinny guys doing quarter-depth squats for 115 lbs. say "he's going way past parallel," as if that means I'm doing it wrong lol. Besides, it's not that I'm "going way past parallel," it's that I'm going to the absolute bottom.
When did "going to/past parallel" become everyone's main concern with squats? You rarely hear "glute activation," "back arch," "push your knees out," or "don't keep your back folded too late in the lift" which, to me, are essential to learn and which require much patience and focus. Nope, all they talk about is "parallel," and they fight endlessly and pretend to actually know something about squats based on whether they think you should go "to" or "past" parallel. Wish I had a freakin home gym like some of you

**Felt good. Could've done more sets. Bar speed still too slow for how I want it to feel, though.

Bench = 9,700 lbs.

20 x bar
8 x 115
4 x 165
2 x 205*
a**) 4 x 5 x 185
b) 5 x 10 x 120

*Felt heavier than I expected, which concerned me at first. Turned out to have no problems with my sets of 185; probably could've gone on for more sets of 5, like 2 maybe 3 more. I think my upper limit is down right now b/c of the recent high volume work. Even taking off just 20 lbs. enables me to handle the weight with lots more stamina.

**Felt good. Just like squats, I could've done more sets, although I want to be able to accelerate it more.

Taking the weekend off. I'm not fatigued, but this seems like a great opportunity to preempt fatigue. It's been a very productive week, and I don't want to risk overdoing it. Resting will be productive too. Here's the number of workouts I've done each week for the past month:

Haha, I'm actually shedding lbs.! Now you've all seen my diet and training logs. You know I'm putting in the workouts and eating the calories. I really don't think this is lost muscle mass. My traps, quads, delts, tris, and chest are noticeably thicker; all my shirts are tighter in the chest/shoulders; and I just generally feel fuller. My lower abs are a bit more visible than usual; without intending to at all, I think I'm actually burning fat. I'll take pics at the 1-month mark from when I took the photos in my original post.

It's all going exactly how miked96 described it in his article: "Worried about getting fat? Give me a break! If you’re a 145-pound man...do you even have the metabolism to get fat?...Take advantage of your metabolism to keep you lean and build something to be proud of."